Lamp base holder for automatic base filling machines



April 27, 1954 l' T. G. SHAFFE'R 2,676,561

LAMP BASE HOLDER Eon AUIoMAIIc BASE FILLING MACHINES Filed nee. ze, 1951 2 Shasta-Shut 1 INVENTOR 776.5//F/EE' BY 9 Z i 01 7 6 9M M v4. Z Q 6 WZ/ 1 A0. 55 543 .J1f ITE A 1. ZM g w/ 5M 4 f ,E M Mn I' M ATTORNEY April 27, 1954 T. G. SHAFFER LAMP BASE HOLDER FOR AUTOMATIC BASE FILLING Filed Dec. 2a, i951 2 Sheets-Skeet 2 /1 f i M 30 4 Z0 .ZZ

lNvENToR rats/Fraz l ATTORNE stations.

Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED ISTTES LAMP BASE HOLDER FOR AUTOMATEC BASE 'FILLING MACHINES Application December 28, 195i; Serial No.263,94il

:1 Claim. 1

'This invention relates to base llingfmachines and, more particularly, to a :base holder therefor. 'The ibases for incandescent lamps provide'the means :of lconnecting the lamp culbto the` socket. For-general lighting purposes, lscrew 'type bases areflmostcommon-ly employed. Most screw type l'bases areatta'ched to the vbulb by means ol a basing-cement especially 'designed Tior the purpose. -llhebases are filled with `cement prior to basing on` an automatic base .filling machine having a plurality of, such as, for example, l2 heads or The bases "are `held `in holders in the heads which rotate` on the machine frame and index ,from station to station. rBhey fareautomatically` fil-led `with cement from a reservoir :or

`distributor in the cement filling station 'of the machine.

r`the conventional Ybase hol-ders are usually voc- -tagonal shaped strips V'or springs of tempered lbronze locatedzin a hollow base nest in each individual fhead. These. holders are unsatisfactory that "theyfpermit the casete slipin the head -gduring rotation, thereby producing ran 4:uneven rounding Vsleeveiin the basenestwere employed.

YThe holder and sleeve held the hasesecurely "duringrinitialvuse but after continuedxservice, the prongssof the holdertended to spreadxthus perinitting Athe Tease tozslip during rotation'and nlling.

Hence lit was found advantageous, `.according to 44my invention, to place the rubber ring between 'the holder and thesleevefto produce a .constant pressure on Athe base, .thereby preventing slipping .tof theV hase during rotation'fand lillin'g, `and producing an even deposition of `cement f'on'lthe interior periphery of thebase in 'thelling station.

In its general aspect, :the present `invention has .as its object the elimination vofthe disadvantages andl defects `ci the 'prior-art base holders for zin-automatic base iilling machine.

A'specic object of the invention' is a base `holder assembly for an automatic base fiilling 'machine which prevents slipping of the'ibaseduringrotation and 'filling .nnotherf object ofithe inventionis aibase'"holder "for an automatic base filling machine which `produces an even lling of the base.

'A further object is a base holder assembly for an automatic base filling lmachine having a rubber ring 'between a `base holder and a retaining sleeve to produce a constant pressure on the base during rotation andlling thereof.

Other objects of the invention will appear to those skilled in the art to which it apporta-ins as 4the description thereof proceeds, both'loy direct recitation thereof and by implication from the context. n

'Referring to the Vaccompanying drawing, in which like numerals of Vreference indicate similar parts throughout the several views:

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partially in axial section, of a head of a base flling'machine in the unloaded condition in a rotating station and showing the base holder assembly of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the head with parts in `section on the line II-II of Fig. l, in the direction ofthe arrows;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary axial `sectional View of the fbase holder assembly in the unloaded condition;

Fig. 4 is a view corresponding to Fig. l, but showing the head in the loaded condition;

Fig. 5 is `a fragmentary sectional View, similar to Fig. 3, of the base holder assembly of my invention in the loaded condition;

Fig. 6 4is a side Velevational view, partially in section, `of the head and cement reservoirat the cementv lling station of the base filling machine.

Fig. 7 is a'perspective View of the base holder Yof my invention;

Fig. 3"is a side elevational View similar to Fig. Ll, partially in section, of the head at the unloading non-rotating station; and

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic lplan viewof a conventional base `filling machine.

In the drawing, particularly in Fig. 6, a base "hclderhead Hl of a multi-head automatic base filling machine l2 is shown beneath `a cement reservoir and distributor I4 at. a cement filling station of said machine. This head ID has a hollow'body'l of cylindrical form rotata'bleiin a `bushing IBV inv av table 25 of the'machine I2.

Base holder hemd The 'body i6 has a flanged annular upper portion or shoulderzi. which overlapsvthe upperfsur- 4iiaceof-the bushing t8 and-the table'ZDyand a 'loi er :portion 2e 'of reduced diameter. 'Onthe f:lower extremity :of Yportion 24, a "driven spur gear into the lowerend of said plunger.

26 is secured over a bottom cover plate 28, as by a bolt 30. Gear 26 is engaged by a driver spur gear 3 I, which in turn is rotated by driving means, such as a motor, not shown. 'I'his plate 28 underlies bushing i8 and the adjacent portion of the table 20. Vertical motion of the body I6 with respect to table 29 is prevented by the shoulder 22 of body I6 and the bottom plate 28.

An axial cavity 32 extends the length of the body I6. This cavity comprises a cylindrical base nest 34 in the upper portion of body I6, a middle clearance hole 36 of reduced cross section, and a base elevating shaft hole 38 of further reduced diameter in the lower portion of body I6. The inner surface of body I which forms the bottom side wall of clearance hole 36 is tapered upwardly from the vertical sides of said hole and forms an annular horizontal shoulder 46 at the upper end of the shaft hole 9S.

A base elevating or ej ecting shaft 42 is vertically slidable within shaft hole 38 on a cylindrical lower portion 44. This shaft 42 also comprises an annular middle portion or collar 46 above lower portion 44 for engagement with the shoulder 49 within body I6, and an upper portion 48 similar to bottom portion 44 but of reduced diameter for supporting a screw type base 49. In all stations or" the machine I2, except the loading and unloading stations, the lower end of the shaft 38, as shown in Figs. l, 4 and 6, is not in engagement with a cam track 50. However, in the unloading and loading stations, as shown in Fig. 8, engagement of the lower end of shaft 38 with a raised. portion 5| of the cam track 56, as the machine |2 indexes into that station, elevates the shaft 38 and partially ejects a cement lled base 49 therefrom.

Within base nest 34 is provided a base holder assembly 52 of my invention. This assembly comprises a cup-like base holder 54 (Fig. '1) and a hollow cylindrical retaining member or sleeve 56 (Fig. 6) with an annular member or ring 58, suitably rubber, between said holder and said sleeve. As shown particularly in Fig. '7, holder 54 has a flanged lower portion 60 and a cup-like upper portion 62 having a nearly cylindrical and axially curved inner surface. The diameter at the open end of cup-like portion 62 is suitably slightly less than the base 49 and the same as base 49 at its bottom end. This upper portion 62 has a plurality of equi-spaced radial pie-shaped vertical slots 64 cut therethrough to form a plurality, six in the present showing, of flexible prongs or resilient fingers 66 having an L-shaped vertical cross section and designed to t the contours of the base 49. The sleeve 56 has a lower inner annular projection 68 for supporting the ring 68.

A circular top cover plate 18, having an axial center hole to permit the insertion of the base 49 therethrough into the holder 54, is attached to the top surface of the body I 6, as by three screws 12, shown in Fig. 2. This plate secures the holder 54 and the sleeve 56 in the base nest 34.

Cement reservoir The cement reservoir and distributor I4, shown in Fig. 6, comprises a hollow reservoir 14 filled with a suitable cement 15, e. hollow cylindrical plunger 16 threaded into the lower end of said reservoir and to which is xed an upper guide bracket 18. A lower guide bracket 89 fixed to the frame of the machine (not shown) is provided to guide said plunger 16. A cap 8| is threaded A guide sleeve 82 is disposed about the lower end of the plunger 16 and secured to the lower extremities of a pair of vertical guide rods 84 and 86. The lower end of the plunger 16 is of slightly reduced cross section and provided with a sleeve or bushing 88 thereabout to facilitate the vertically reciprocating motion of the plunger within the sleeve 82. A cement delivery aperture is provided through the bottom side wall of the plunger 16 and the sleeve 88 above the cap 8|. The guide sleeve 82 has an annular top flange secured, as by bolts, to the lower reduced-section portions of the guide rods 84 and 86 by riveting over the lower ends thereof, as illustrated. The bottom face of sleeve 82 is tapered downwardly and has an annular portion 94 of reduced section at its lower end which fits into the opening of a base 49.

The lower guide bracket 89 which is slidable on the guide rods 84 and 96 has a pair of circular grooves 96 and 98 cut into its bottom face axial to and of larger diameter than said rods. About rods 84 and 86, recovery springs |00 and |02 extend from sleeve 82 into the grooves 96 and 98 respectively. Above lower guide bracket 80, the upper guide bracket 18 is also slidable on rods 84 and 86. On the upper end of rods 64 and 86 are provided pins |04 and I 96, respectively, which project through suitable holes therein and limit the upper travel of the plunger 16.

Base filling machine and operation thereof The automatic base lling machine I2 (Fig. 9) may comprise, for example, l2 of the heads I0 which are indexed from station to station automatically by conventional indexing means, not shown. The raised portion 5I (Fig. 8) of the cam track 50 may extend peripherally beneath the non-rotating unloading stations 9 through I2 and the non-rotating loading stations through 3. Hence, particularly in the rst unloading station 9, the base elevating shaft 42 is in its position of greatest vertical travel and, as shown in Fig. 8, has partially ejected the base 49 upwardly from the prongs 66 of the holder 54, so that an operator may remove the cement filled base 49 easily by hand. At stations 4 and 5, the shaft 42 leaves the raised portion 5| of the cam track 50 and drops down so that the annular collar 46 of shaft 42 rests on the shoulder 40 of the internal portions of the body At station 6, a conventional base inserting plunger (not shown) may be carried on plunger 16 of cement reservoir and distributor |4. This base inserting plunger pushes the base 49 downwardly between the ngers 66 of the holder 54 until the bottom of the base 49 rests on the top of the shaft 42.

At station 1, driver gear 3| rotates the driven gear 26 and hence the head I2 containing the base 49. Simultaneously, the reservoir 14 and the plunger 16 are moved downwardly by reciprocating means, such as a compressed air cylinder (not shown). The downward motion of the reservoir and plunger permit the guide sleeve 82 (Fig. 6) to slide downwardly until the lower tapered edge of the sleeve 82 contacts the open end of the base 49. Plunger 16 continues its downward travel sliding in sleeve 82 until the cement delivery aperture projects below the bottom edge of the sleeve 82 and the cement 15 is distributed evenly therefrom to the inner periphery of the rotating base 49, as shown in Fig. 6. At the same time, the compression of the springs |00 and |02 on the guide rods 84 and 86 against the top of guide sleeve 82 maintains sleeve 82 in contact with the rotating base 49 during the iilling operation.

At the end of the cement iilling operation, plunger 16 is retracted upwardly, thereby Withdrawing the aperture 90 from sleeve 82 and cleanly cutting off the iioW of cement 15 from the base 49. When the upper guide bracket 18 strikes the pins |04 and |86, sleeve 82 is retracted with the plunger '16, upwardly from the base 49, thus permitting the indexing of the head I to the non-rotating station 8.

Holder operation According to my invention, when the base 49 is pushed downwardly at station 'I by the base inserting plunger, the prongs 66 of holder 54 move outwardly from the axis of the holder 54 and the rubber ring 58 is readily compressed against the retaining sleeve 59. This permits the downward travel of the base 49 therein until said base rests on the shaft 42. The compressed rubber ring 58 cooperating with the resiliency of the fingers 66 produces a constant pressure on the base 49, thereby preventing slipping of said base during rotation in the filling station 'l and permitting the even deposition of cement 15 on the inner periphery of the base 49.

At station 9 the shaft -42 is elevated by the raised portion I of the cam track 58, and pushes upwardly on and partially ejects the base 49, allowing the prongs 96 of the holder 54 to again move inwardly toward the axis of the holder 54 and again relax the rubber ring 58.

Thus, it will be seen from the foregoing description that the base holder assembly 52 of my invention has eliminated the disadvantages and defects of the prior art base holders for automatic base iilling machines. My base holder assembly 52 prevents slipping of the base 49 during rotation in the filling station 1 of said machine and permits the even iilling or deposition of the cement through aperture 98 in the lower end of plunger 16 of the cement reservoir and distributor I4 on to the inner periphery of the base 49. My base holder assembly 52 comprises a flanged cup-like holder 54 and a cylindrical retaining sleeve 56 with a rubber ring 58 therebetween and maintains a constant pressure on the base 49 through rotation and filling thereof.

Although a preferred embodiment of my base holder assembly has been described, it will be understood that modications may be made within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

Iclaim:

A cement lling station for an automatic base lling machine comprising a vertically reciprocable cement distributor, said distributor comprising a reservoir, a hollow vertical reciprocable plunger fixed to said reservoir and having a guide bracket on its upper end and a cap in its lower end, a guide sleeve having a tapered reduced lower end portion adapted to lit into the opening of a base, said plunger being reciprocable in the guide sleeve and provided with a cement delivery aperture cooperable with said guide sleeve as a valve, mounting rods xed to said guide sleeve for guiding said guide bracket, means about said rods for biasing said guide sleeve toward said base, and means for limiting the reciprocable vertical travel of said plunger, a rotatable base holder head beneath said distributor, said base holder head comprising a body, a vertically reciprocable base elevating shaft and base holder assembly within said body, said base holder assembly comprising a base holder having a cuplike upper portion provided with resilient fingers and a anged bottom portion, a retaining sleeve about said holder, a compressible rubber ring secured therebetween, and means for vertically reciprocating said shaft and rotating said head.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 533,733 Nye Feb. 5, 1895. 1,306,643 Swan June 10, 1919 1,639,312 Schreck Aug. 16, 192i 1,727,851 Allen Sept. 10, 1929 

